Durham University student: Alastair Cooke is accused of asking the woman if she knew his name before allegedly raping her

A student accused of raping a drunken undergraduate claimed their relationship had been on the verge of becoming more intimate, a court heard today.

Alastair Cooke, 22, is accused of following the woman home from a party and finding her asleep on the couch, taking her to bed and asking if she knew his name before allegedly raping her.

The third year student of geophysics with geology at Durham University, from Perranarworthal, Cornwall, denies three counts of rape on the same woman.

Giving evidence, Cooke said that he fancied the girl and that spending time with her made him feel happy.

Asked what stage their relationship was at before the incident in June last year, he said: 'At that point I was uncertain, as things had progressed, we were spending time together one on one. It was progressing towards a more intimate one.'

But he said he had not told her about his feelings, telling Durham Crown Court: 'I never made it explicit to her, at that point I did not know how she felt'.

Cooke, 22, said that he fancied the girl and that spending time with her made him feel happy

He said: 'She made me feel happy. She made me feel good about the time I had spent with her.'

He also described a time they went ice skating together and claimed 'she was insisting on us doing this thing where we would go to the other sides and then skate into each other's arms'.